Isabel Mertz scoops coveted prize at Absa L'Atelier 2011

Anthropomorphic spaces III

Mertz was awarded a three-month residency at the Cité in Paris, French language classes and a nationwide touring exhibition sponsored by the French Embassy, French Institute and the Alliance Française. Her airfare and free access to galleries and museums in Paris are included.  Mertz’s three-dimensional work, Anthropomorphic spaces III, uses wax, cement, bronze and drafting tables to comment on the structuring of urban environments and their ultimate malleability in changing times.

The winner of the overall prize was Ian Grose from Cape Town with his work Colour, separation. A number of graduates and current postgraduate students from the University of Pretoria were selected as finalists in this prestigious national competition.

An exhibition of the top 100 works will be on public display from 27 July 2011 until 19 August 2011 at Absa Gallery, Upper Ground Level, Absa Towers North, 161 Main Street, Johannesburg.